Webinars

The Future of Healthcare

5 October 2021

The healthcare sector has not only been greatly impacted by digital transformation but also by consumer behaviour, influencing the development of virtual healthcare, increased patient involvement in selecting health care options and new innovations in care models.

The pandemic has rapidly increased those innovations and has led to extensive collaboration between health care organisations, industry businesses, government actors and academia.

This webinar was recorded on 6 May. Click here to find an overview of our "The Future of..." event series.

Topics & Speakers

Is 3D printing a real game changer in the implantable medical devices industry?

Matej Daniel

Head of the Division of Biomechanics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University

"Additive manufacturing is becoming a great asset for the healthcare industry. One of the most interesting benefits of 3D printing is the possibility of customization. From the scans of the patients, engineers can create surgical guides or even totally custom-made artificial joints that perfectly fit the morphology of the patient. However, do we really need anatomically shaped artificial joints manufactured from engineering materials like steel or titanium alloys?"

Telemedicine: Will doctors always have to see patients in person?

Zuzana Hodoňová

Counsel, Wolf Theiss

"Telemedicine – the innovative approach to healthcare."

Can AI, ethics, and privacy work together?

Josef Holý

Head of Product Development, Semantic Visions

"Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning are revolutionising industries, and healthcare is the next frontier. As with every other technology, AI can radically change R&D, diagnosis, automation and patient care, but it also brings with itself risks and ethical consequences. The question of ethical AI should thus be made an integral part of decision making around the application of this new technology."

How can we prevent bioterrorism from hijacking innovations?

Gunnar Jeremias

Head of the Interdisciplinary Research Group for the Analysis of Biological Risks (INFABRI)

"Innovation processes in the life-sciences are still accelerating. These developments lead to new technologies such as genome synthesis, simplified genome editing, or fast genome sequencing and better accessibility and lower costs for research and development. In parallel though fears are growing that terrorists could take advantage of these changes and expand their arsenals via bioweapons. This presentation covers risk potentials and mitigation strategies."

Will AI and Digital Technology lead to Homo Deus?

Jakub Kotowski

Director, AI Lab, MSD

"AI has been applied in Pharma and Life Sciences since the 1960s, and it is advancing at a rapid speed. In this short talk, we will highlight interesting milestones and extrapolate into the near and far future based also on recent new research and theories."

Jannis Vitzthum

Director Austria, Germany, Greece, Israel & Switzerland, Integrated Health Solutions, Medtronic Germany

Who owns your brain-data when it comes to brain-chipping?

Roland Marko

Partner, Wolf Theiss

"If brain-chipping was the only way to stay ahead of AI, who owns my (chipped) thoughts? – Is it "me", my "super-ego", "it" …or Elon Musk?"

How will the US and EU respond to AI/ML in medical devices?

Kamila Seberová

Counsel and Head Life Sciences Team, Wolf Theiss

"Will the FDA's AI/ML Action Plan boost more investment in innovative medical devices? And what is the European approach to regulation of AI/ML in healthcare?"

If society is getting older and older, who will take care of the elderly – and can we afford to get older?

Ilse Simma-Boyd

Strategy & Economic Management, Department of Elderly Care, Caritas Vienna

"The European population is the oldest it has ever been. By 2060, 155 million Europeans - 30% of the total population - will be aged 65 or older. This unprecedented ageing development leads to a significant and growing need for care."

Will there ever be enough healthy food for the Earth's population?

Georg Strasser

Country Manager, Austria, Too Good to Go

“Our mission is to inspire and empower everyone to fight food waste together.”

Life after the pandemic – will we ever be able to travel again as freely as before COVID-19?

Günther Weiss

Department of Internal Medicine II, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria

"The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in enormous travel restrictions and the closing of boarders, which will remain largely unchanged over the next few months. Once the pandemic can be well controlled by vaccination programmes and daily life hygiene preventions, restrictions may be stepwise lifted and partial normalisation of travelling will re-emerge."